MoveDetroit network wants 1,111 new residents to take the D plunge

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A group of young professionals from Detroit have a goal -- find 1,111 new residents to Detroit by 11/11/2011.

Move Detroit is a team of 12 young professionals, some real estate agents and brokers, who will spend the summer enticing suburbanites interested in city living to take the plunge and move within the city limits. Their hook? Harnessing the energy and enthusiasm of current D-town residents.

"We're going to throw parties all summer, and get people into Detroit to see what it is," says Move Detroit secretary Lauren Cavanagh. "People who already live here can communicate with them, and people who don't live here can see how great the city is."

Is finding over a thousand new residents in less than a year's time unreasonable? Cavanagh says their biggest hurdle will be the lack of living spaces for sale in popular neighborhoods like Midtown and downtown to accommodate such a population shift.

"We're hoping that we get as many people as we can down here, and if we don't hit our goal, we just have an even more compelling story: which is -- we need more places to live in the city," Cavanagh says. "Next year, Move Detroit's goal will be about renovating, and redeveloping, and turning more spaces into livable spaces."

They're using the web to track new moves. They'll encourage new Detroit denizens to visit its site to track the Motown move.

And despite the fact that several group members are involved in the real estate industry, Cavanagh says Move Detroit isn't a moneymaking opportunity, but a way for like-minded professionals to do their part to encourage repopulation.

"We really want to show that this is not about anyone gaining financially, it's about the city gaining financially. We just brought together a big group of people who care about the future of the city of Detroit."

The Move Detroit launch party will take place Friday, May 13, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. on the patio at the Garden Lofts building at 66 Winder in Brush Park. They're asking Detroit residents to stop by and meet potential neighbors, have a beer, and reach out to newcomers.